Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai

Chapter One-hundred and fifteen: Artistic Attack

Dawn, Kenny, and Trip, who were accompanying Burgh, were at Studio Castelia, to attend an unveiling of one of Burgh's works of art that was going to be on display there. There were loads of upper crust snob types at the unveiling, which didn't surprise the reborn trainers, especially considering that it was to attend the unveiling of the work of art that Burgh, who up until then didn't display his works of art outside of his gym... well, had on display outside of his gym. Given how high profile of an artist Burgh is (at least in Unova), many were wanting to attend the unveiling of said work of art.

...Unfortunately, the unveiling party was crashed by members of Team Scorn. Specifically, Captain Miyuki, the Third Captain of Team Scorn's Longsword Sector, as well as Ayahi who served as Miyuki's Captain's Assistant, and at least enough Team Scorn grunts to outnumber the people in the art studio already. Additionally, Miyuki had an Ariados and a Seadra following her. As the upper crust snobs began to panic, Dawn held up her hands as she regarded Miyuki and Ayahi with a dry look. "...You said that you were here to collect a certain something," Dawn said to the highest ranking members of Team Scorn involved in the attack on the art studio, "Care to share with us what it is that you're looking for?"

"...I fail to see why we should tell you anything," Miyuki said coolly, "You'll undoubtedly try stopping us if you know what it is that we seek."

Trip regarded the two Pokémon that the Team Scorn captain had following her. "...Interesting choice in Pokémon you got there."

"They both have the ability Sniper," Miyuki explained, "An appealing and fitting fact."

"She probably fancies herself as something of a dab hand at marksmanship," Kenny harshly whispered to Dawn when he leaned to his side to whisper to her. That idea actually make Dawn worry; what if this Miyuki girl before them really WAS good at aiming and shooting? It's bad enough that there's three officers in Team Scorn who carry melee weapons, but at least those can be protected from if one keeps enough distance. But a marksman? Depending on the quality of her firearm, Miyuki can take out folks not only from a distance, but she can do it while hidden, meaning there's no exact way to tell where it'd be safe.

The only saving grace, well for now at least, was that the Third Captain of Team Scorn's Longsword Sector doesn't appear to be carrying any weapons, and her only means of fighting appear to be her pair of Pokémon who both have the Sniper ability. Even so, by no means were the reborn heroes going to let Miyuki, her assistant Ayahi, and the nameless Team Scorn grunts get away with whatever evil that they had cooked up. Dawn was about to step forward to challenge Miyuki, but Kenny and Trip both beat her to the punch on that one.

"You take care of the assistant, Dawn," Trip said as he sent Myde out, "Kenny and I will handle the captain."

"We're gonna cringe up a storm," Kenny said as he sent out Priestess.

Shrugging, Dawn said, "Very well." Turning to face Ayahi, Dawn tossed up a pokéball while saying, "Alright, Chi-Chi! Let's get goin'!"

Upon seeing the named Infernape come out to face her, Ayahi smirked as she tossed up a pokéball while saying, "Go, Pelipper!" After the Captain's Assistant's Pelipper came out into battle, Ayahi said in a self-assured, confident tone, "I wouldn't blame you for yielding to me right now. I mean, you have a fire fighting Pokémon out, and my Pelipper is water flying. With how I have such an advantage over you, it's obvious that I'm going to-"

"Chi-Chi, use Thunder Punch!" Dawn called out. Chi-Chi, with her right fist cloaked in electricity, rushed forward and slugged the Pelipper square in the face, causing it to cry out briefly in pain before it passed out and fell to the floor with a light 'flump'. Chi-Chi and Dawn both turned to look right at Ayahi, with Dawn saying in a dry tone, "What was all of that good stuff that you were going on about now?"

Ayahi scowled a bit in frustration before she recalled her fainted Pelipper, before sending out a Furret. "Use Scratch!"

"Chi-Chi, use Brick Break!" Dawn called out. The two Pokémon rushed at one another, but Chi-Chi was faster, swinging a hand forward in a chopping motion, bringing it right down on top of Furret's head, stunning it and making it stumbled around in place a bit before it passed out on the floor.

Once again, Ayahi scowled in frustration before she recalled her defeated Pokémon, but the scowling was slightly more pronounced that the previous example. "I still can't believe that I lost to a cheater like you," Ayahi complained, "Furret was my last Pokémon."

"Oh?" Dawn replied, "I'm a cheater now? And how, pray tell, did you reach that conclusion?"

"I had a water flying type against your fire fighting type," Ayahi said, "I had the clear advantage! I should have won there!"

Dawn rolled her eyes dryly. "Just because one has the type advantage doesn't mean they're guaranteed to win. Also, why should I care about what you think? You're a bad guy who's part of a group of bad guys attacking and trying to raid an art studio! I fail to see how the people fighting off the bad guys in that scenario are obligated to 'play fair', especially if doing so means the bad guys will get away with their schemes because of it!"

Ayahi folded her arms over her chest, gave a pouty expression. "...We should be allowed to do what we-"

"Hey, I just checked the whole studio!" a random male Team Scorn grunt called out, "I found absolutely nothing even remotely resembling what we're looking for!"

Over where she stood recalling her defeated Seadra and Ariados after losing to Kenny and Trip, Miyuki called out, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah!" the male grunt called out, "Absolutely no statuettes that even remotely resemble the legendary Pokémon Reshiram! Hell, there's no statuettes period!"

Miyuki scoffed bitterly. "Then this was a wasted mission. Everyone fall back!" The members of Team Scorn then threw smoke pellets to the floor, creating clouds of smoke that masked their escape from Studio Castelia. By the time that the smoke cleared, all of Team Scorn was gone. Dawn met up with Kenny and Trip, and they with Burgh tried to get everyone else to calm back down, as some of the upper crust snobs were still a bit panicked due to the appearance of Team Scorn at Studio Castelia.

However, it did not escape the notice of the reborn trainers that Team Scorn was apparently trying to locate a statuette of the legendary Pokémon Reshiram. Dawn's memories of the Unova anime from the previous life of her and the boys was a bit fuzzy, but she did recall that Team Plasma, or at least the faction led by Ghetsis, was able to successfully summon and control Reshiram. Team Scorn voicing interest in Reshiram told Dawn that those villains were, at an absolute minimum, trying to keep from putting all of their eggs in one basket, as there was also a chance that Team Scorn was also after Zekrom as well as per Ideku's theory.

It would also make sense for Team Scorn to have multiple big name legendaries under their ownership, given that Dawn, Kenny, and Trip had Palkia, Giratina, and Dialga respectively. But would Ayane be set up to catch both Tao dragons, as she was being set up to catch Dialga as per the orders of Team Scorn's boss? Or would the boss pull up another trusted underling to serve as a proxy in using a legendary Pokémon for him, or would the boss be willing to use a legendary Pokémon himself? There was a lot of questions that needed to be addressed, but for now they had to be put on the back burner as there were innocent upper crust snobs who needed to be calmed back down from the scare they just had.

...

"You think that Team Scorn is after both Zekrom AND Reshiram?"

Dawn nodded grimly in the affirmative after she, the boys, and Burgh were able to help get everything situated away. Burgh had been the one to exclaim in shocked surprise, while Kenny and Trip looked on with grim looks of understanding. "We've already foiled one scheme on Team Scorn's part where they tried to capture a legendary Pokémon of notable power," Dawn explained, "They were trying to capture it in the first place in order to let them stand on equal footing with me and Kenny, given he and I own Giratina and Palkia respectively."

"They successfully summoned Dialga but failed to catch it," Trip said, "I ended up catching Dialga instead. But all that means is that Team Scorn will try all the harder to capture a major legendary Pokémon, as they now have three enemies with such Pokémon to worry about."

Burgh looked very concerned by what all he was being told. "...Ash Ketchum's female companion, Iris," Burgh began, "I believe that she is from the Village of Dragons, which is located near Opelucid City. They have strong bonds with dragon Pokémon in the Village of Dragons, and I recall hearing that they have large statues of Reshiram and Zekrom in the village." Burgh looked to Dawn and the boys. "I honestly know very little, if anything at all, about the legend of Reshiram and Zekrom. But I am willing to be that the Iris girl who's traveling with Ash can give you some more details."

"So that's all the more reason for us to reunite with Ash and meet up with the group he's traveling with here in Unova," Kenny said, "We need to drill Iris for deets on the local legendary dragons of Unova."

Dawn nodded in agreement. "We might also wanna keep our eyes and ears out for anything that might lead us to the Reshiram Statuette that Team Scorn tried raiding Studio Castelia for. If Team Scorn was willing to crash an event like the art unveiling for it, then we can't just dismiss it."

"We ought to call Professor Juniper and tell her about it," Trip suggested, "Maybe also phone Lenora back in Nacrene City. She seems to be something of the researcher type, maybe she can help."

Burgh nodded in agreement. "Yes, let us head on over to the local Pokémon Center and use their video phone to make some calls. It'll also give me a chance to see if my Pokémon are recovered enough to take a challenge from one of you. Given the chaos that occurred today, I'm afraid that I'll only have time to accept a challenge from only one of you."

The reborn trainers all nodded in understanding, knowing full well that the situation couldn't be helped. Besides, they now had a working theory that Team Scorn is after not just Zekrom, but also Reshiram. It would be disastrous if Team Scorn successfully got just one of those two, but it would be far more nightmarish if they successfully got BOTH of the Tao dragons. Dawn and the boys knew that they had quite the tall order ahead of them if they were to keep Team Scorn from getting a hold of any more power than what they already had.

It would be a worse-than-worse-news scenario if Team Scorn successfully caught both Zekrom AND Reshiram.

Meanwhile, at the undisclosed location in Unova that served as Team Scorn's base for its Unovan operations, Admin Swordsman was sitting at a desk in his office as he spoke to his First Captain, Hiroaki, and Heroaki's Captain's Assistant Ayana, who is Swordsman's cousin. "...So Miyuki's mission was a failure because the rumors we got on the Reshiram Statuette being at Studio Castelia turned out to be false," Swordsman said as Hiroaki gave the report.

Shrugging his shoulders, Hiroaki said, "What can you do? It's not like it's Miyuki's fault that the Reshiram Statuette wasn't at Studio Castelia. Fate just worked against her on this one."

"At least Miyuki and all of her men she had brought with her got away," Ayana pointed out.

Swordsman nodded in agreement to the point. "Fair enough. We'll try looking elsewhere for rumors that'll ultimately lead Team Scorn to the front doors of Reshiram and Zekrom. We also need to keep eyes and ears out for rumors of shiny Pokémon in the wild, in order to complete that pending side-mission that anyone in any sector of Team Scorn can fulfill."

Hiroaki looked a mite curious. "How does finding a shiny Pokémon in the wild constitute as a mission?"

"Orders from upstairs," Swordsman explained, "Boss's Assistant Ayane wants a shiny Pokémon of her own. She doesn't care what species of Pokémon it ends up being, she just wants a shiny. Thusly, the big man himself issued a side-mission available to every sector of Team Scorn to track down and get a hold of a wild shiny Pokémon. First sector to do so wins, so to speak."

Ayana folded her plump arms over her well-sized chest, a mildly bemused look on her face. "The boss sounds more like he's spoiling a bratty teenage daughter."

Shrugging, Hiroaki said, "If they're close enough in age for it to fly, then it could also be like the boss is spoiling a girlfriend."

"Our concerns shouldn't matter," Swordsman replied, dismissively waving a hand, "The point is that the boss finally has the Assistant that he's been missing, and he's just trying to-"

"Speaking of finally getting a missing Assistant," Hiroaki cut in, "When will you finally get yours?"

Swordsman's expression took on a bit of a melancholy look of resignation. "...When I find someone I feel will work as my Player Two." Shaking his head, Swordsman's expression got back on track for the discussion. "Now, is Second Captain Hiroki ready for the mission to Relic Castle?"

"He just needs to get some of the men working under him prepped for the mission is all," Hiroaki replied, "The place they're heading to IS located in a desert area, so they need to take necessary precautions before heading on out."

"Fair enough," Swordsman remarked, "They'll need to prepare for the desert heat. Bring plenty of water, and maybe look into seeing if they can carry their mission out during the night when it's cooler." Hiroaki and Ayana were then dismissed, and after Ayana had closed the door behind her, Swordsman turned his head upwards to look up at the ceiling in his office, let out a sigh as he was alone again.

Alone. Swordsman had always been alone in some way, even back before he took on the name Swordsman, back when he still commonly used his real name of Yoshitsugu. Even though his younger cousin Ayana would always dutifully try to keep him company, try to keep up with him as fast as her well-fed figure would let her, he had always felt alone. Swordsman was starting to feel as if he was always going to be on his own, with no one he felt could be his personal backup. A dangerous idea to be sure, but one that the Admin of Team Scorn's Longsword Sector didn't mind.

Because he had always been alone. So what's the rest of his life being alone going to do the change the norm?

Back in Castelia City, the reborn trainers and Burgh were able to get to the local Pokémon Center where, while Burgh was checking up on his Pokémon, Dawn and the boys made some calls on the video phone. They first called Professor Juniper and told her about what all had happened at Studio Castelia, as well as their suspicions on what Team Scorn was up to. They also told her about how Team Scorn was looking for a Reshiram Statuette of some kind.

"Sounds like something that my father," Professor Juniper began, "Professor Cedric Juniper, would know about. I'll make a note and ask him about it the next time I'm able to get a hold of him. Meanwhile, you guys ought to bring up the Reshiram Statuette to Lenora of Nacrene City as well. That's a good idea, she's also fairly well versed in stuff like that."

The reborn trainers, after they finished talking to Professor Juniper, then called Lenora. They luckily got her, and when she asked what was up, Dawn proceeded to explain to her what all had happened before bringing up the Reshiram Statuette. "...Yeah," Lenora scowled, "Figures that Team Scorn would keep eggs in more than one basket. Zekrom AND Reshiram, huh? The damage they can do with just those two Pokémon would make what happened to the Hisuian exhibit at the museum here look like a joke."

"How are you doing about that, by the way?" Kenny asked.

Sighing in a troubled tone, Lenora said, "The people who financed the exhibit coming to the museum are steamed as all get out. They can't really do a thing about how that alpha Hisuian Typhlosion that was revived from the skeletal remains was allowed to be kept by Ideku, but they ARE trying to raise a stink over both the damage that other parts of the exhibit were damaged AND how a suit of armor that had been worn by a figure in Hisuian history, one Commander Kamado, had been stolen. Get this; the guys financing the exhibit being at the museum are trying to sue me for what all they can blame others on!"

"They're trying to sue you?" Trip said, sounding steamed. It was a sentiment shared by both Dawn and Kenny.

Lenora nodded in the affirmative. "Luckily, I got some good lawyers, so if my luck holds, I can give those financers a rude gesture." Gently shaking her head, Lenora went on, "But that's besides the point. Now, I believe that I may actually have a book in the museum's library that mentions the Reshiram Statuette. I'm going to go and try to hunt it down as soon as this call is over. Give me at least twenty-four hours before calling me back, the museum's library is fairly big. Hopefully, not only will I have the book in question, but it'll give us some details that can clue us in as to why Team Scorn would want it." The reborn trainers agreed, and wished Lenora luck in finding that book before ending the call.

After the call ended, the reborn trainers let out a collective troubled sigh. Things had just got even more heated, what with Team Scorn now taking aim at both of the Tao dragons. As they began to wonder how they and others working against Team Scorn could stop those villains, Burgh came walking up. "I take it you guys made the necessary calls?"Burgh asked.

Dawn nodded in the affirmative. "Lenora believes that her museum's library may have a book containing relevant info, and Professor Juniper is going to ask her dad, who is also called Professor Juniper, about it since he's researching Unovan myth to an extent."

"If it'll cheer you guys up," Burgh said, "My Pokémon are fully rested and ready to take on a challenge from one of you three."

"You said you only had time to battle one of us, right?" Trip asked.

Burgh nodded in the affirmative. "In addition to the chaos that occurred taking up some focus, I..." Trailing off a bit, Burgh had a bit of an embarrassed look on his face. "...I was also hoping that you guys wouldn't be opposed to letting me paint your alpha Hisuian Pokémon. To have living examples of Pokémon such as them available, surely just seeing them will inspire my creative artistic juices like never before!"

"We have no problem with that," Dawn replied, a gentle and understanding smile on her face, "It'll also give us time to unwind and relax. We DID just get done dealing with Team Scorn after all. And now we got info suggesting what Team Scorn's next objective might be!"

Kenny pounded a fist into his hand. "Imma feeling a hankerin' for pounding in some Team Scorn faces!" Although there was still some worry in the air given that Team Scorn was now taking aim at multiple big name legendary Pokémon, the reborn trainers and Burgh were able to relax at least somewhat, given that they and some good friends and allies were taking steps to counter Team Scorn's vile villainy. All they had to do now was roll with the punches as they came, to keep their eyes and ears out for any sign of what Team Scorn may be up to.

After Dawn and the boys had some time to rotate their respective parties, they followed Burgh to his gym in Castelia City. Walking inside, they saw a few works of art that Burgh had made. "Every work of art you see displayed here in my gym was made by me," Burgh said, a hint of smug but friendly self-amusement in his tone, "So if you see one or two examples that draw amazed wonder out of you, you'll know who to credit for it."

Burgh really did live up to his reputation as an amazing artist, and Dawn noted a statuette of a Gardevoir that she thought was particularly impressive. After walking past some works of art that were on display, the reborn trainers had followed Burgh into the stadium of his gym, where he asked which among Dawn and the boys would be taking him on first. Kenny and Trip stepped back and had Dawn step forward, indicating that she would be the first among their group to try their hand at earning the Insect Badge.

Although Dawn's battle with Burgh lasted longer than the one she had with Lenora back in Nacrene City due to Burgh having one more Pokémon than Lenora did, Dawn still won without too much difficulty. Chi-Chi took out Burgh's Whirlipede with Fire Punch, Souji took out Burgh's Dwebble with Iron Head, and Argent took out Burgh's Leavanny with Fire Fang. Burgh did not begrudge his loss at all, and in fact gained artistic inspiration from seeing Argent in battle, seeing first hand the true splendor of the named alpha Hisuian Arcanine, a splendor that Burgh would later be quoted as saying could only be seen by witnessing the Arcanine in battle.

Pokémon Burgh awarded Dawn the Insect Badge, he applied some medicines to his Pokémon and allowed them to rest in a back room. With his Pokémon recovering, Burgh led the reborn trainers to a large art studio room in his gym. There, he asked Dawn and the boys to bring out their alpha Hisuian Pokémon and have them all get ready to pose so that he can paint them. As such, Dawn and the boys got Argent, Priestess, and Todoroki set up to pose with one another while Burgh got everything he would need to paint a wondrous portrait ready.

Burgh was at the canvas for a few hours practically non-stop, up until he heard Pirestess yawn. Looking over, he saw that the alpha Hisuian Liligant was getting tired, not to mention how Argent and Todoroki were also getting sleepy. Looking over at the sofas in his art studio room, Burgh saw that Kenny and Trip had fallen asleep and Dawn was struggling to stay awake. He then turned to look at the clock in the room, saw that it was half past ten at night. "Oh geez! It's getting fairly late!" Burgh said, "I had lost track of time due to being cause up in artistic muse!"

The sleeping boys were roused and Dawn was pepped up, and Burgh explained to them that things will have to be resumed in the morning. In the meantime, the reborn trainers decided to get lodging in the bunk rooms at the local Pokémon Center. The boys were especially needing to rest, given that they both had to face Burgh in their respective challenges to his gym in the morning. As for Dawn, she quickly fell asleep, without need to worry about earning the Insect Badge given that she had already earned it earlier.

...

The following morning, the reborn trainers woke up, freshened up, got breakfast, and met up with Burgh again at his gym. There, Kenny and Trip played rock paper scissors to determine who between them would go next, with the honor going to Trip. Trip defeated both Whirlipede and Leavanny with Mr. Popo the Magmortar, but for Dwebble, Trip surprised Dawn and Kenny by sending out a Bastiodon that he named Byron. It was the named Bastiodon who defeated Dwebble, doing so between Whirlipede falling to Mr. Popo and Leavanny falling to Mr. Popo. Thus was how Trip earned the Insect Badge.

In the time between Trip's challenge and Kenny's challenge, Burgh while having his Pokémon treated at the local Pokémon Center got back to painting the portrait of the alpha Hisuian Pokémon. While Burgh put brush to canvas, Dawn and Kenny talked to Trip. "So you also have a fossil Pokémon," Kenny remarked, "Who you named after Roark's dad over in Sinnoh."

"Oh come on," Trip said, "Byron is a top gym leader who uses steel type Pokémon! Can you really blame me?"

After enough time had passed, Burgh who almost had the portrait finished was able to collect his fully rested Pokémon from the local Pokémon Center so that he could battle Kenny. Similar to Dawn and Trip, Kenny ended up winning, using Godzilla to sweep the lot that Burgh brought to bare. With all three of the reborn trainers now having an Insect Badge each, their group was ready to proceed forward with their journey through Unova. Once Burgh was able to put the finishing touches on his latest work of art, that is.

...

"Just need to let the paint dry and the portrait will be ready," Burgh said, "I'm thinking of calling it 'History made modern'." The reborn trainers saw the portrait, saw how Burgh was able to capture the magnificence that he was aiming to capture in his art. "Anyway, if you guys are all aiming to earn the gym badges of Unova," Burgh said, "Then Nimbasa City will be your next stop. There you'll find another gym, which is headed by Elesa, an electric type Pokémon user."

"We... know about Nimbasa City," Dawn said, remembering what all she and the boys got about what had happened in Nimbasa City, mainly how a Team Scorn admin had murdered Bianca's father, then battled Ash until Ash had collapsed from a sudden headache, at which point the Admin decided to flee.

"I recommend, however," Burgh went on, "That you kids leave now, and travel through Route 4 while it's night time."

Trip looked like he knew what Burgh was getting at. "Oh yes. I got it that Route 4 is a desert, so going through it while it's nighttime where it'll be darker thus cooler will be a good idea."

"You may also want to bring plenty of water," Burgh suggested, "Just saying." The reborn trainers thanked Burgh for his time, then after exchanging some formalities, they took off, each of them one Unovan gym badge richer. They swung by the local Pokémon Center, fed their Pokémon, then went out to buy some supplies for their trek through Unova Route 4 at night. As soon as they were fully prepped, Dawn, Kenny, and Trip took off from Castelia City, aiming to tackle the desert route ahead of them so that they can get through and reach Nimbasa City.

END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN

Author's notes;

This chapter sees the business in Castelia City resolved; the art heist is foiled partly because the item that Team Scorn came in for apparently wasn't there, and talk about it suggests to the reborn trainers that Team Scorn is after Zekrom AND Reshiram. The reborn trainers soon enough are then able to have their battles with Burgh, although between battles they allow him to paint a protrait of their alpha Hisuian Pokémon. After the painting is done and the reborn trainers had each earned a badge from Burgh's gym, they prepare to head up along Unovan Route 4, so as to reach Nimbasa City where Ash had a fateful encounter with the Admin in charge of the Team Scorn sector in Unova. But the reborn trainers will have some work along Unovan Route 4, and what all it has to offer, before they can pound on Elesa's door. Kenny in particular will see some more growth, but that is a tale for the next chapter.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Souji (male Rampardos), Argent (male Arcanine; Hisuian; alpha), Phoebe (female Tepig), Sluggo (male Snubbull), Tsukune (Palkia)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Zarbon (male Machamp), Priestess (female Liligant; Hisuian; alpha), Giyu (male Oshawott), Godzilla (male Tyranitar), Kyo (female Zorua), Black (Giratina)

Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Empoleon), Byron (male Bastiodon), Fourze (male Electivire), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Deelia (Dialga), AkiBot 966 (Golett)